Temporary sign brackets

ABSTRACT

A sign bracket for temporarily hanging a sign board on a substantially upright post. The bracket has upper and lower panels that pivot about vertically spaced hinges having horizontally aligned axes. The upper and lower panels have recesses opening to one side for receiving and gripping the post.

I United States Patent [:51 3,638 894 Leutenegger Feb. 1, 1972 [54]TEMPORARY SIGN BRACKETS 3,295,812 1/1967 Schneider ct a1. ..248/230 X[72] lnventor: Nicolas W. Leulenegger, 2334-l5th Ave., FOREIGN PATENTSOR APPLICATIONS Monroe, WIS. 53566 212,073 3/1924 Great Britain..248/246 [22] Filed: June 22, 1970 2] A LN 48,406 PrimaryExaminer-J.Franklin Foss 1 1 PP Attorney-Joseph 6. Werner, Theodore J.Long, John M.

Winter and James A. Kemmeter [52] U.S.Cl. ..248/22l, 40/125 1-1,211/110,

248/125, 248/230 [57] ABSTRACT t. .J I 0 i g l Search 248/221 230 fi gaA sign bracket for temporarily hanging a sign board on a subg' lazg'fstantially upright post. The bracket has upper and lower panels thatpivot about vertically spaced hinges having [56] References Citedhorizontally aligned axes. The upper and lower panels have recessesopening to one side for receiving and gripping the UNITED STATES PATENTSP 1,212,588 1/1917 Volhard ..248/230 2 Claims, 3 Drawing FiguresTEMPORARY SIGN BRACKETS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of theInvention This invention relates to sign brackets and more particularlyto a temporary sign bracket that has two hinged end portions havingrecessed openings for receiving and gripping a sign post.

2. Description of the Prior Art Various types of temporary sign bracketshave been invented in the past. One such device, shown in US. Pat. No.437,480, shows a sign having open spring-retaining arms as brackets. Adisadvantage of this kind of bracket is that it is rigidly attached tothe sign. Whenever this kind of sign and bracket is not is use, it cannot be compactly stored without first removing the bracket from thesign.

Another device, shown in US. Pat. No. 2,882,629, is a collapsible sign.The sign and its attaching means can be compactly stored when not inuse. However, a disadvantage of this kind of sign is that it must beslipped over the top end of its support tube. The heighth at which thesign is displayed is then dependent on the length of the support tube.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Generally, my invention comprises a bracket fortemporarily attaching a sign to a post at any heighth desired on thesign post. Another object is to provide a bracket that is collapsible sothat, when not in use, the sign board and its still attached bracket canbe compactly stored.

These objects are accomplished by my invention which is a bracket thathas hinged panels with recesses that fit substantially around theperiphery of a sign post. Opposing wedgelike forces create resistance tomovement between the sign post and the edges of the recesses therebymaintaining the sign in its desired position on the sign post. Theseopposing forces are caused by the tendency of opposite sides of therecesses to twist against opposite sides of the post. Thus my temporarysign can be slipped around a sign post at any desired heighth and itwill remain in place without the use of separate attaching or retainingmeans.

Other objects, features and advantages of my invention will be apparentfrom the following detailed description taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing asign board with the preferred embodiment of my bracket attached theretoand in an extended position for hanging the sign board onto a sign st. pFIG. 2 is a front elevation view showing my sign bracket detached fromthe sign board and folded in a overlapping position for compact storage.

FIG. 3 is a front elevation view of my bracket fully unfolded.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now more particularlyto the drawings wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout theseveral views, a sign is generally shown at in FIG. 1. The signcomprises a sign board 11 with my temporary bracket 12 attached thereto.

Bracket 12 has a mounting panel 13 for fastening the bracket to signboard 11. Upper and lower panels 14 and 15 are attached to mountingpanel 13 by hinges 16 and 17, respectively at the upper and lower edges33 and 34 of panel 13. In another embodiment, mounting panel 13 can beeliminated by fastening hinges 16 and 17 and the panels 14 and 15directly to sign board 11.

Panels 14 and 15 have recesses 18 and 19, respectively, formed thereinand opening to sides 20 and 21 thereof, which fit substantially aroundthe periphery of the sign post shown as 22 in FIG. 1. Recesses 18 and 19are substantially U-shaped and could be made to open to the oppositesides 23 and 24 of panels 14 and 15 if desired. It is not necessary thatrecesses 18 and 19 open on the same sides of panels 14 and I5, but theycould open on opposite sides, i.e., recess 18 could open to side 20 ofpanel 14 and recess 19 could open to side 24 of panel 15; likewise therespective recesses could open to side 23 and side 21. Recesses l8 and19 do not have to be substantially U- shaped, rather any shaped recessthat can receive and substantially fit around and grip the sign post canbe used, so long as the portions of the recess grip the sign post onsubstantially opposite sides of the post as shown by 25 and 26 whichsides 25 and 26 of post 22 are substantially the sides farthest away andnearest to, respectively, hinge 16. If desired the recesses could opento sides 27 and 28 of panels 14 and 15 so long as the recesses areshaped so as to grip the sign post 22 at substantially the sides nearestto and farthest away from the hinges 16 and 17. In the preferredembodiment edges 29 and 30 of recesses 18 and 19, respectively, areserrated as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3.

When a sign embodying my invention is hung on a sign post, such as isshown in FIG. 1, the weight of the sign will tend to pull the sign awayfrom the post and downwardly. This causes panel 14 to pivot upwardly,in'a counterclockwise direction as viewed in FIG. 1, about hinge 16until the edge 29 of recess 18 grips the substantially opposite sides 25and 26 of post 22. There will be an inwardly and upwardly directed forcewhere edge 29 is gripping the post at its side 25 and an oppositeoutwardly and downwardly directed force where the edge 29 is grippingthe post at its side 26. These forces are represented by arrows 31 and32 respectively. It is these opposing forces that maintain the sign atits desired vertical position on the sign post by creating a resistanceto any movement between the sign post and the edges of the recesses. Thelower panel 15 has similar opposing forces, but its primary purpose isto hold the lower part of the sign board away from post 22, as theweight of the sign is primarily borne by upper panel 14 and hinge 16.

It can further be seen that because panels 14 and 15 pivot about theirrespective hinges l6 and 17 a sign constructed according to my inventioncan be hung from any sized post so long as recesses 18 and 19 are largeenough to fit around the post. Whenever a post such as 22 is smallerthan the recesses 18 and 19, panels 14 and 15 merely pivot more awayfrom each other until the edges of the recesses grip the opposite sidesof the post. I

The use of serrated edges 29 and 30 is more effective when hanging asign from a wooden post, but will likewise work when hanging a sign froma metal post. It is not, however, necessary that the edges 29 and 30 ofrecesses 18 and 19 be serrated in order for my invention to work.

When a sign constructed according to my invention is not in use, thebracket 12 can be folded substantially parallel the plane of sign board11 while still attached to it, so that the sign 10 is substantially flatfor compact storage. FIG. 2 shows bracket 12 thusly folded except thatit is not attached to the sign board. Thus it can be seen that a signmounted on a bracket constructed according to my invention is verydesirable for such types of signs as NO PARKING or other temporarytraffic control signs and similar purposes when the type notice used ona sign is one that is put into use only temporarily and in differentplaces at different times. Such a sign can be readily put to use andhung on any vertical type post and when its use is no longer necessarycan be readily taken down and folded for storage until the next use isneeded.

It is understood that my invention is not confined to the particularconstruction and arrangement of parts herein illustrated and described,but embraces all such modified forms thereof as may come within thescope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. A sign bracket for temporarily hanging a sign board on asubstantially upright post, comprising:

a. a substantially flat mounting panel for attachment to the sign board,said mounting panel having an upper and a lower edge,

b. upper and lower panels hingedly attached to the upper and loweredges, respectively, of said mounting panel for pivotable movementbetween an overlapping position substantially parallel to said mountingpanel and an extended position transverse to said mounting panel forhanging the sign board, the distance between the upper and lower edgesof said mounting panel being greater than the length of at least one ofupper and lower panels. said upper and lower panels each having a recessformed therein and opening to one side thereof for receiving andgripping the post.

2. A sign to be temporarily hung on a substantially upright post,comprising in combination:

a. a substantially flat sign board,

b. an upper panel having a recess formed therein and opening to one sidethereoffor receiving and gripping the post,

0. a lower panel having a recess formed therein and opening to one sidethereof for receiving and gripping the post, and

(1. means hingedly attaching said upper and lower panels to said signboard for pivotal movement about vertically spaced horizontal axes froma storage position substantially parallel to the plane of said signboard to an extended position transverse to said sign board for hangingthe sign board, the distance between said axes being greater than thelength of at least one of said panels.

1. A sign bracket for temporarily hanging a sign board on asubstantially upright post, comprising: a. a substantially flat mountingpanel for attachment to the sign board, said mounting panel having anupper and a lower edge, b. upper and lower panels hingedly attached tothe upper and lower edges, respectively, of said mounting panel forpivotable movement between an overlapping position substantiallyparallel to said mounting panel and an extended position transverse tosaid mounting panel for hanging the sign board, the distance between theupper and lower edges of said mounting panel being greater than thelength of at least one of upper and lower panels, c. said upper andlower panels each having a recess formed therein and opening to one sidethereof for receiving and gripping the post.
 2. A sign to be temporarilyhung on a substantially upright post, comprising in combination: a. asubstantially flat sign board, b. an upper panel having a recess formedtherein and opening to one side thereof for receiving and gripping thepost, c. a lower panel having a recess formed therein and opening to oneside thereof for receiving and gripping the post, and d. means hingedlyattaching said upper and lower panels to said sign board for pivotalmovement about vertically spaced horizontal axes from a storage positionsubstantially parallel to the plane of said sign board to an extendedposition transverse to said sign board for hanging the sign board, thedistance between said axes being greater than the length of at least oneof said panels.